‘The people are my priority - Donaldson

Aiming to win back the Westminster seat he has held for almost two decades, the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson says looking after the people he represents remains his priority.

He was honoured, he said, to have served the people of Lagan Valley during 18 years of sweeping change, much of it for the better, though more recently challenging, given the local impact of the recession.

“Thankfully,” he said, “we are beginning to recover and unemployment has dropped significantly in Lagan Valley over the past couple of years as we have attracted new investment and created more jobs.

“My focus has always been on looking after the people that I represent and that is why so much of my time is spent on dealing with local issues that really matter to individuals, families and the communities in which they live.

“My full-time office and advice centres across the constituency have dealt with thousands of issues for local people and this will remain a priority for me. I have always believed the number one responsibility of an MP is to look after the people of the constituency.”

Mr Donaldson said the local economy remained a big issue. “The revitalisation of Lisburn City Centre and regeneration of Dromore town centre and other urban and rural towns and villages will continue to be high on my agenda as we seek to ensure growth and investment across the entire Lagan Valley constituency,” he said.

He added: “I believe my experience as a senior parliamentarian will be vital for Lagan Valley and Northern Ireland in the next parliament and I would count it a great honour to serve the people of this constituency for another term.”